Cattle goings

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Viehgangeln, Osterhorngruppe
Cattle walking near the Rotwand in the Mangfall Mountains

Viehgangeln or Gangeln (in the Alps also Ku (a) hgang (e) ln , Ku (a) hwegl ) are stairs parallel to the slope on steeper alpine pastures that are created by keeping cattle and can shape entire slopes. This representation arises from the fact that cattle with pasture experience prefer to move and graze parallel to the slope. As a ruminant , a cow has several stomachs following one another in the digestive tract . If the cows are not standing parallel to the slope, the uphill stomachs press on the downhill stomachs. Since cattle, as original steppe animals, are not anatomically adapted to the mountains, their digestion is considerably disturbed. New cattle on the mountain pastures often lose weight in the beginning and have to learn this grazing technique from experienced animals. Once stamped, traces are preferred.

Such gangways stabilize the slope in a weak way. By the associated soil compaction but is more pronounced at the risk of tearing the turf , resulting in a significant increase in erosion, especially in the form of Plaiken leads. When it is wet, the risk of erosion is significantly increased, which is why the herders drive the cattle from the steep slopes to flatter alpine areas when it starts to rain . Today, however, the cattle are mostly unsupervised on the alpine pastures. The shepherdless grazing of cattle is therefore a major cause of the increase in erosion in the Alps.

literature

Web links

Commons : Viehgangeln  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. a b c Alexander Stahr , Thomas Hartmann: Landschaftsformen und Landschaftselemente im Hochgebirge , 1999, ISBN 3540652787 , p. 114 .
  2. a b Werner Bätzing : The Alps - History and Future of a European Cultural Landscape , 3rd edition 2005, ISBN 978-3-406-50185-2 , p. 83 f.